Swiss-Irish bakery firm Aryzta has seen its third-quarter revenue fall by more than a fifth (21.5%), due to the continued impact of COVID-19 on its operations.
The group posted revenue of €644.2 million for the three month period to 30 April, with the decline largely driven by a drop off in the group's foodservice and QSR channels.
While the group said that it 'responded rapidly' to the changed consumer environment, including taking 'decisive actions' to maximise cash and reduce costs, trading patterns worsened as the quarter progressed.
While trading in the period to 15 March was in line with guidance, the group said that prospects 'deteriorated sharply' in the weeks since, with Aryzta seeing organic revenue decline 49% in the month of April alone.
Performance By Division
In Europe, Aryzta reported an organic revenue decline of 23.6%, of which volume declines had a 22.2% impact.
It said that while retailers and convenience stores continued to operate – albeit hampered by social distancing regulations and labour constraints – the foodservice and QSR channel experienced an 'effective shutdown' in the period.
In North America, organic revenue was down 20.4%, almost entirely due to volume declines, while in the Rest of World, organic revenue was down 14.3%.
Commenting on the performance, Kevin Toland, Aryzta chief executive, said, “COVID-19 is unprecedented and has impacted the lives of people across the world. It will have a material impact on Group performance in 2020.
"At Aryzta, while prioritising the health and safety of our colleagues, customers and suppliers, we have taken decisive action to protect the business and our cash resources. Our Q3 revenue has been strongly impacted by the pandemic but our facilities and products are positioned to recover and compete as economies stabilise and return to growth."
EGM Called
Elsewhere, Aryzta confirmed that it will call an emergency general meeting in mid-August, in line with calls from shareholders Veraison and Cobas, which are seeking to remove four members of the Aryzta board, including chairman Gary McGann.
The two shareholders together own 17.8% of the business.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
